Type – Comedy, New Play, Corporate-White-Saviour-Shakedown
If you liked – Utopia, The White Lotus, untitled fck mss s**gon play
SAVIOR: Hilarious social commentary is imbued in this debut play, with a superb quartet of performers to do it justice. Binabati kita!
A real-life typhoon, a devastated Philippines, a cold corporation, a literal white saviour – and yet SAVIOR is still stuffed with plenty of laughs. Happy Feraren‘s debut play is described as Utopia meets The White Lotus – the resulting production is not far off. Based around the casualties of the Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone which hit the Philippines in 2013, Feraren’s SAVIOR explores sharp, weighty subject matter whilst maintaining consistent laughs around strikingly poignant political and social observations.
Michelle serves as an NGO aid worker for SAVIOR International, based in Manila. She’s dedicated to the cause, wanting to serve her community when it needs her most. Her best friend – the more relationship-concious Janna – tries to utilise her friend’s workplace to both help Michelle get a bit of action from all the new whiteboy aid workers on Tinder, and get herself a bit closer to helping her cousins left in the epicentre of the devastation in Tacloban. A few unsolicited swipes later and Michelle matches with her new boss, Joe, whose self-righteous motives skew far from the needs of those in the devastation.
Kenneth Moraleda‘s direction sustains the comedy throughout, working in tandem with Feraren’s sharp satire which reaches everything from privately sponsored corporations, to religion, and the westernised obsession with the white saviour narrative. Moraleda show’s an unwavering confidence in the piece – the characters are sharp and layered, the moments of drama are rich and deep, the piece remains engaging without losing its edge.
There’s a beautiful flow to Feraren’s language that blends Filipino, Tagalog and English together into a diverse melting pot that never excludes one audience over another. For a first play, the result is sublime. What SAVIOR may lack in evocative depth, it makes up for in juicy social commentary and running gags that induce vocalised responses each time the game is lifted further.
Haily Hunt‘s design unfolds like a puzzle piece. The foundations of the story rest on the devastation of Tacloban as we move from hotel rooms, to corporate offices, poolside conversations, and what remains of cylcone’s epicentre. Aided by BROCKMAN‘s lighting design, the neon stripped borders of the set contain the action, whilst extended your imagination. There’s never a moment lost for ingenuinity and creativity.
The quartet of SAVIOR‘s performers are excellent, with each offering a distinct character working in tandem to build the world and do justice to Feraren’s words and ideas. Chrissy Mae Valentine anchors the piece in a superbly grounded performance that balances Michelle’s dedication to the cause with her primal attraction to Joe. Michael Whalley produces plenty of laughs as Joe, serving the satire with comedic ease and leaning into the larger commentary that Feraren makes on the notion of colonial saviorism. Chaye Mogg‘s endearingly fierce Janna acts as a connection to the wider Filipino community yearning to give aid to their loved ones. Mark Paguio flies around the story, leaving a complex impression in Jobert’s optimism with moments of sincerity to return us to the reality of the story when required.
Is SAVIOR Worth Seeing in Sydney?
Griffin’s unwavering support for producing new works from new writers is why it’s one of the most supported companies in Sydney. They themselves persevere through tumultuous changes and still manage to put diverse voices at the centre of their work. SAVIOR is no different, and is very much worthy of your time.
There’s a life beyond this first production of SAVIOR, with more work still to be done to bring the roundedness it needs, but what this strong and driven creative team has made is full of wit, humour, and biting commentary of the westernised benevolence gifted on devastated communities. There’s an ABC show here waiting to be given funding, I can feel it.
Tickets and Practical Info for SAVIOR in Sydney 🎟️
16 MAY – 14 JUN 2026
DOWNSTAIRS THEATRE, BELVOIR ST THEATRE
Tickets: https://griffintheatre.com.au/whats-on/savior
By Happy Feraren
Director Kenneth Moraleda
Dramaturg Declan Greene
Designer Hailley Hunt
Lighting Designer BROCKMAN
Composer & Sound Designer DOBBY
Licensed by Sony Music Publishing (Australia) Pty Limited
Language & Dialect Coach Michelle Baltazar
Community Engagement Leads Tamara Montina, Maybelline San Juan
Producer Tamar Kelly
Stage Manager Tyler Fitzpatrick
With Chrissy Mae Valentine, Chaye Mogg, Mark Paguio, Michael Whalley
